Chapter 372: Get your hands off her.

“SCREEEEEEEEEECH!!”

Grahkal screeched and rushed forward, aiming his strong, barrier-piercing wings at Igni’s. The plan was simple—they would target the Dragon’s wings, which were usually Winged Beasts’ weakest parts.

Constantly targeting the Dragon’s wings would take away his ability to fly, and once he was down on the ground, it wouldn’t be difficult to take him out.

“RRROOOOAAAARRR!!”

Igni roared as well. The air between them exploded as the dragon clashed with hardened wind.

BOOOOM

Igni roared, swerving to the side as he dodged the black beast’s claws. Lavinia’s balance slipped—she felt like she would tumble—but Igni kept his hold.

“Nar’zul vor’rak?! Zul’thar, vekh’daal ME!!”

{Why do you flee?! Come, face ME!!!!}

The Chief shouted as he continued his relentless attacks. He swung his axe again and again, each hit heavier than the last. Lavinia tried to respond with spells—ice spears, fireballs, thunderbolts, or even vines snapping from below—but they missed or were deflected midair. Even the vines were helpless since they were already too high in the air.

Lavinia was struggling.

The enemy was too strong. Honestly, if it weren’t for Igni taking control, she would have already fallen.

The dragon was fighting back, but his focus was split. He couldn’t dodge, protect Lavinia, and attack all at once—not against a rider and beast this coordinated.

Contrary to his appearance, Gruumak was actually quite cunning. Within just a few seconds, he quickly let go of the delusion that his Grahkal was anywhere near strong enough to harm the dragon.

Grahkal’s strong wings were his greatest strength. Gruumak had used these wings to tear through countless enemy beasts, their barriers, formations, and whatnot.

But…

When Grahkal collided with Igni, the wings he was so proud of cracked.

Yes, after just a single clash, Grahkal was hurt. His greatest strength collapsed and… the dragon didn’t even act like it was a big deal.

The dragon was strong.

Too strong.

So the rider and the beast came up with another strategy—instead of attacking the dragon, they would target the Witch. Yes, the dragon would attack and dodge, but Gruumak could sense slight hesitation in the dragon’s movements.

He didn’t know what it was about, or if it was because he was too inexperienced to battle freely and make use of his strength, but it was something he was definitely going to use to his advantage.

And after a few more clashes, when Gruumak was even surer of the dragon’s hesitation, he smirked as the realization kicked in—

In this battle, he had the upper hand.

“HA-HA-HA-HA!! ZUL’KHAAL DRAK!!”

{HAHAHAHA! LET’S END THIS!!}

He increased the relentlessness of his attacks.

Lavinia gasped. Because of the constant attacks, her focus began to shift. She could no longer control the vines beneath her, and with Gruumak’s first beast—who had followed behind him and had finally gotten here—trampling on the vines that were no longer being controlled as efficiently, the trapped Stonefangs broke free.

In an instant—more than a hundred Stonefangs were now free, ready to once again participate in the battle.

A sight even Gruumak hadn’t expected.

It was like two more units that he perceived to be out of battle had joined them again.

With this…

He didn’t have to make do with slaying the Witch and the Dragon alone—he could get… more.

Suddenly, he raised his axe and gave out his next order,

“Drok’taal zul’kaan! Shorrak dul Tharn! Graakh Shaar’gul aan Draak!

Vor’taal zul’vorr! Stop Drokh’dul!

Zul’tar—grah’tak draal! Vornak Unitek Grah! Brak’tar draal, shaar Vel’morun!

Zul’raan nar! Veth’mor dul if must!!”

{Twenty warriors! Stay with me! Kill the Witch and the Dragon!

Fifty go! Stop the Flying Man!

Rest—charge the Wall! Join Unit One! Tear it down, capture the Velmourns!

We need them alive! Eat them if must!!}

Yes, that was the plan.

Since the Flying Man did not kill, he would send some of his men to keep him down. He and his people could slay the Witch and the Dragon, and his men would tear the Wall and capture the Velmourns.

This way, they could use the Velmourns’ lives in exchange for food—and this battle…

It would no longer be considered a loss.

“SHAAR’TAR!! SHAAR’TAR!!”

{ATTACK!! ATTACK!!!}

“YAAARRRRGHHHH!!”

{YEAAAAAHHHHH!!!}

The freed Stonefangs roared in joy and instantly got into action.

“No…”

Kael’s expression became heavier as he saw everything unfold through the sky. The Stonefangs were on the move again—now, much faster than before since Lavinia’s vines, their biggest hurdle, had become mostly useless.

The instant her forest was unraveled, more and more holes appeared in Velmourn defenses. The enemy’s movements became quicker; their coordination strengthened as well. It almost seemed like they were facing an entirely different army—one twice as strong as the one before.

Kael knew that Lavinia wasn’t in danger—he trusted his firstborn and knew he would protect her.

But the same couldn’t be said for the Velmourns.

If this continued, the clash between the Velmourns and Stonefangs was inevitable, and that clash would lead to too many deaths and the collapse of Velmourn defense.

He…

He needed to move.

He needed to take on the enemy chief, and for that, he needed to deal with thirty Stonefangs that were left.

“FLYING UNIT!!”

Suddenly, he shouted, gaining his unit’s attention.

“Half of you hold your positions! Other half—come and attack the remaining Stonefangs!”

He ordered.

“Yes, Sir!”

The Flying Unit moved without delay. Kael too, used Draconic Surge to increase his speed to absurd levels and began attacking the Stonefangs.

On the other side, the thirty Stonefangs charged through the vines and reunited with the Chief’s original ground unit.

“SHAAR’TAR DRAAL!! SHAAR VEL’MORUN!! VETH’MOR VEL’MORUN!!”

{TAKE THE WALL!! CAPTURE THE VELMOURNS!! EAT THE VELMOURNS!!}

“VETH’MOR VEL’MORUN!!”

{EAT THE VELMOURNS!!}

Now almost a hundred strong, they charged the Wall. Some even threw axes, spears, and anything they could find at the Wall the Velmourns cherished so much.

Crack

The ice armor Lavinia had formed began to crack under pressure.

“Sergeant!”

A soldier on the Wall shouted.

Leron didn’t hesitate either.

“Men of the Watch! Down the Wall!! Defend it with your lives!!”

“But Lord Kael said—!”

“I SAID MOVE!!”

Leron ordered, going against Kael’s words.

There was nothing else he could do. As much as he appreciated Kael’s efforts and respected him, the Wall could not be damaged under any circumstance, or the Velmourns wouldn’t survive the winters.

The soldiers didn’t hesitate either—they knew the importance of the Wall, and since the orders were already given,

They jumped.

“JUMP!!!”

Spears in hand, war cries on their lips, the Velmourn soldiers—with their cherished beasts—hurled themselves off the Wall to protect it.

Honestly, the situation was chaotic. Everything happened a little too suddenly—just a few moments ago, Velmourns were completely safe. Heck, they were actually winning.

But now, everything flipped completely.

The Velmourns, though they followed the orders they were given, were confused.

No one knew what to do.

The formations collapsed, different shouts overlapped, lines broke.

The Velmourns, prepared to defend the Wall, were now standing in front of the charging Stonefang warriors, who were only 200 meters away from them.

Kael, who saw it, became even more anxious.

He couldn’t let it happen!

The death toll would be ridiculous!

He tried to move—but more Stonefangs blocked his way. He blasted one with fire, threw another to the ground with a push, but no matter what he did, they kept coming to him as if they didn’t fear anything.

By now—Kael had realized it as well.

The reason as to why this was happening…

It was him.

The enemy had sensed his hesitation. The enemy understood that his attacks wouldn’t kill, so they charged at him without fear.

If he wanted this to stop, he needed to kill one of them.

Reacting quickly, Kael took out his sword—an action that made the Stonefangs flinch.

What was he doing?

Was he finally going to kill?

Such questions froze them for a second—and that was all the time Kael needed to appear in front of one comparatively isolated Stonefang and pierce his heart with his sword—

Or…

That was what Kael thought he would do.

But…

He couldn’t.

His sword paused an inch away from the Stonefang’s chest, his eyes widened in tension, his face pale, his hand… trembling.

He couldn’t do it.

The enemy was a human.

A human who was doing everything he could for the sake of his and his family’s survival.

He couldn’t kill such a man.

His body froze mid-air.

“BWA-HA-HA!! Drokh’dul nar! Zul’draa veth’gul, like draal’kin!!”

{BWAHAHA! Flying man stopped! He trembles in fear like baby warriors!!}

“Drokh’dul nar’graal!”

{Flying man weak!}

The Stonefangs laughed. The Stonefang who was about to have his heart pierced grinned as well. He extended his hand forward, wanting to grab Kael’s head and use this opportunity to take him down, but then—

“Father!”

Cirri called out and—

WHOOOOOOOOSH

THUNDER

The dragon instantly pushed the Stonefang’s body with a gust of strong wind, and as if that wasn’t enough, a huge bolt of electricity scorched the man’s body and he fell down. Cirri did not kill him because her father did not want it, but she still made sure he wouldn’t participate in the rest of the battle.

Imperia too had sensed her father’s condition and was now peeking out of Kael’s pocket, prepared to act if it was required.

“I am fine.”

Kael spoke, slowly calming his tensed nerves.

No matter what, he couldn’t put his children in danger.

The solution to this problem was simple—he was going to knock every single one of them out, just like Cirri did, without killing them.

Kael prepared himself for round two but then—

“Aaaahh! Father!!!”

A cry was heard, instantly attracting Kael’s attention. He turned around, and what he saw made him freeze in horror.

“Zul’dra vekhda, zul’tar vekh’dan shaal’gul!! Tharn graakh zul, veth’mor dul draak’mor!!”

{So you are the one making my comrades dance like that! I will tear you apart and feed you to my beasts!}

One Stonefang warrior caught Vitaria by her neck and lifted her in the air, as if trying to rip her head off.

And Vitaria—she was crying.

And when Kael saw her tears, the air around him shifted,

“You filthy little shit.

Get your hands off her.”

He spoke. His voice seemed like it came from the very depths of hell.

[Ascendance of the Ancient.]

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